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The Treasury of Ancient Egypt - Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology by Arthur E. P. B. Weigall
page 23 of 252 (09%)
the breaking up of the world's empires would be urged, and such
federations as the United States of America would be intolerable.

Patriotism is, and must be, the desire for the progress and welfare of
the whole nation, without any regard whatsoever to the conditions under
which that progress takes place, and without any prejudice in favour
either of self-government or of outside control. I have no hesitation in
saying that the patriotic Pole is he who is in favour of Russian or
German control of his country's affairs; for history has told him quite
plainly that he cannot manage them himself. The Nationalist in any
country runs the risk of being the poorest patriot in the land, for his
continuous cry is for self-government, without any regard to the
question as to whether such government will be beneficial to his nation
in the long-run.

The value of history to patriotism, then, is to be assessed under two
headings. In the first place, history defines the attitude which the
patriot should assume. It tells him, in the clear light of experience,
what is, and what is not, good for his nation, and indicates to him how
much he may claim for his country. And in the second place, it gives to
the patriots of those nations which have shown capacity and ability in
the past a confidence in the present; it permits in them the indulgence
of that enthusiasm which will carry them, sure-footed, along the path
of glory.

Archæology, as the discovery and classification of the facts of history,
is the means by which we may obtain a true knowledge of what has
happened in the past. It is the instrument with which we may dissect
legend, and extract from myth its ingredients of fact. Cold history
tells the Greek patriot, eager to enter the fray, that he must set
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